President’s Message

members along with the TASPA staff went to Austin for our very first TASPA Day at the Capitol.

Early on in my educational career I realized the importance of advocacy for public education. Oftentimes I heard people say that if educators would vote en masse, we would win every election in favor of our profession. Being a right-towork state, our workforce has sometimes been looked at as a minor obstacle rather than a force and voice of reason. Having started my career working with groups of students who were marginalized for one reason or another, I quickly understood why educators are always in the forefront, and in my opinion the key, to passing meaningful change.

Therefore, in my professional life I have always been an advocate for public education. A vocal advocate. Those of you that know me, know that it was shortly after becoming involved with TASPA that I began to advocate for our association to have a seat at the table. Fortunately, over the years we have had other members step up their advocacy efforts as well. However, most of the time it has been on behalf of their community if not their district. TASPA has long been a resource for Human Resource personnel and departments across the state. TASPA is also nationally recognized as a leading organization amongst other similar organizations. In my humble opinion, it was about time that we took the next step and take our advocacy, our resources, and our passion for public education to the law makers. As one might assume, when I became president, this was a primary agenda item of mine. Thankfully, the board agreed and on Tuesday, April 11, 2023, a small group of TASPA

TASPA members should be proud of the progress our association has made in such a short period of time. Chandelle Crane, TASPA Executive Director, with the help of Jeannie Tomasek, Director of Programs & Membership and Kathy Cervantez, Director of Communications & Professional Development worked with David Anderson of HillCo Partners to get TASPA through the doors of the Capitol. Together, your TASPA staff and HillCo helped to set TASPA up as a primary resource to our legislators. Those who met with us, and those who wish to engage us in conversation about all things personnel that pending legislation affects, are now in the know about TASPA being a primary resource for them moving forward. We were able to provide not only details about our association but also speak to some of the concerns we as educators have.

I encourage all of you to get involved in the legislative process. Sometimes all it takes is a phone call to your local representative to get the information out. In the interim, I am thankful for our TASPA members who helped to get the ball rolling. If you have a chance, please let your fellow TASPA members who were able to join us at the Capital know that they are appreciated:

• Brian Kroeger (TASPA Legislative Committee Chair), Splendora ISD

• Jason Liewehr, Denton ISD

• Ben Muir, Northside ISD

• Randy Davis, Carrollton-Farmers Branch ISD

• Chris Tatum, Amarillo ISD

Respectfully,

Al A. Rodriguez